Killed and sexually abused by a man she was meant to trust, the twisted murder of Tia Sharp shook the nation five years ago.

Murdered by her grandmother's lover Stuart Hazell, who used to date her own mum, Tia's initial disappearance sparked a nationwide hunt - when in reality she was wrapped in sheets in their loft, just floors above the search party.

It took nine days for bungling cops to discover the 12-year-old's body in the loft, despite officers searching the area in the first 24 hours.

Described by a trial judge as a "sparky girl who was full of life", her killer was deemed a monster by Tia's devastated family and the nation.

Tonight, five years since her tragic murder, her father Steven Carter, will speak about his daughter's killer in the documentary The Murder of Tia Sharp: My Daughter.

(Image: PA)

Tia was killed by Stuart Hazell at her grandmother's home five years ago

Steve Carter the biological father of Tia visits the memorial in Addington with friends (Image: JIM BENNETT)

Hazell gave this interview to ITV where he maintained his innocence - he was lying (Image: ITV)

Steven split from Tia’s mum Natalie Sharp, 36, when their daughter was a baby. Natalie then had a fling with Hazell before he began seeing her mum, Christine Bicknell, 53.

Footage of this evening's show is being closely guarded but looking back at the Croydon family's devastation at a murder which shattered a community shows the wound is still raw five years on.

When Tia vanished from her grandmother Christine's home in New Addington, Hazell, who was later sentenced to 38 years in prison, told police officers the teenager had "skipped out" out of the house to buy some flip flops in central Croydon.

In reality she was already dead.

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Stuart Hazell was arrested and remanded before being jailed for 38 years

Steven Carter, the father of Tia Sharp and an unknown woman (Image: PA)

The local community pulled together in a determined bid to find the girl, wearing T-shirts featuring Tia's face and plastering the area with posters appealing for information.

Police took 300 calls from the public and logged 60 sightings of Tia. But despite spending endless hours searching through undergrowth and even rubbish bins, there was no sign of the girl.

A floral shrine sprung up at the spot where Tia was last seen as worried locals left bouquets and candles in a symbolic gesture of hope that they would find her.

But all the time, unbeknown to Tia's devoted grandmother, her body lay just yards away from her inside the house.

Suspicion initially fell on Christine's boyfriend Stuart Hazell, but he went on TV to deny vehemently that he was involved in Tia's disappearance.

It would emerge later that, even as he publicly protested his innocence, he had already murdered Tia and hidden her body in the attic. The depraved killer had even taken photos of the dead girl's body.

Police arrested Hazell in south west London and despite initially pleading not guilty, he confessed and changed his plea one week into his trial.

In a cruel twist Christine's neighbour Paul Meehan was jailed for five months after lying to police that he had seen Tia alive the day after she was murdered.

After carrying out a probe into Tia’s “chaotic” home life, social workers concluded in November 2011 that no further assessment was needed.

Instead it was decided Tia’s school should be asked to keep an eye on her and report any concerns.

But the serious case review carried out after her death reveals: “Because of an administrative error this request was not passed on to the school.”

Image of tesco plastic bag (Image: Metropolitan Police)

Paul Meehan, the neighbour of Tia Sharp's grandmother, arrives at Croydon Magistrates Court where he is accused of wasting police time (Image: PA)

(Image: PA)

(Image: PA)

Tia, 12, of Mitcham – a suburb of Merton in South London – was murdered in August r by her gran’s partner Stuart Hazell, 37.

The review by Merton Safeguarding Children Board admitted referrals by police and health workers in the four years before Tia died were missed chances to probe the family more closely.

Steven says in the documentary that he blames himself for his daughter's death.

He says: "I massively blame myself. I should have done more as a father."

He adds: "I had Tia every holiday until things turned sour between me and her mum. If that hadn't happened there's every possibility Tia would have been staying with me that August instead of being at her nan's where she was killed by someone she trusted and called 'grandad'."

Steven also says that he wasn't happy with Hazell's sentence, saying: "He should have hanged."